You On Demand Inc. (CBBD) strikes deal with Warner, stock shoots up

You On Demand Inc. (OTCBB: CBBD) shares skyrocketed 17.4% Wednesday to 11.5 cents, a day after signing a new deal with Warner Bros. Volume for the stock topped 10.1 million shares in late Wednesday trading, in contrast with just over a 888,000-share daily average.

A Reuters story Tuesday noted that the Shanghai-based company has agreed with Warner Bros Entertainment’s local joint venture to offer pay per view movies on its newly launched online paid content platform, Youku said on Tuesday.

Under a three-year agreement with Warner Bros, Youku will add 400 to 450 Warner Bros movies to its Youku Premium library.

“People are increasingly willing to pay for high-quality content, and we take the growth of Youku Premium as a sign that the market is improving for paid services,” Dele Liu, Youku’s Chief Financial Officer, was quoted as saying in the Reuters piece.

Youku Premium, officially launched on Tuesday, began beta testing in October 2010. Since then, the service has processed 200,000 paid transactions for its library of more than 300 movies and 3,880 educational programs.

Everybody’s Phone Company (EVPH) soars 100 percent on news

Phone companies of all sizes are using different angles and gimmicks to hook new subscribers. And the regional, Houston-based Everybody’s Phone Company (Pink Sheets: EVPH) is no different.

“We have spent the past 12 months conducting a study to determine the feasibility of offering pre-paid home telephone service to the sub-prime credit market; we have come to the conclusion that there is enough room in the market for another service providers,” the company’s President, Steve Bethke said in a statement. “We plan to begin offering services soon through a variety of outlets which specialize in serving the needs of the credit-disadvantaged.”

The company’s plan focuses on developing relationships with the owners and companies that operate sub-prime apartments in Texas. EVPH will pay compensation based upon a percentage of the revenues collected from residents. EVPH is also currently forming marketing partnerships with independent owners of pawnshops, check cashing facilities, local grocers, and convenience stores to sell prepaid services to new customers as well as accept monthly payments from subscribers for per-customer commission incentives.

The company’s partnership plans are projected to earn EVPH upwards of $20 million in revenues including a projected $10 million in net profit, according to Thursday’s news release.

EVPH offers a pre-paid service that is a relatively new but fast-growing concept in the telecommunications market, to compete with the Verizon’s and the baby Bells. Legislation in the 1990s permitted small companies like EVPH to provide these customers with a service that is pre-paid and is renewable on a monthly basis.
Thursday’s news created a lot of frenzy in the market. Shares of EVPH closed Thursday’s session up 104 percent to $0.0245, from Wednesday’s closing price. A total of 13,478,703 shares were traded.

Omnicity (OMCY) secures financing to accelerate its acquisition strategy

Omnicity Corp. (OTCBB: OMCY) announced today that it had secured nearly 1.2 million in financing earmarked for the completion of several asset purchases and acquisitions in various stages of closure. Omnicity is the Midwest’s largest and fastest growing fixed Wireless Internet Service Provider, and the goal of this financing is to further the Company’s acquisition and growth strategy by bringing broadband service to rural United States.

Remarking on the goals of the newly secured financing, Omnicity Chief Executive Officer, Greg Jarmen said “This financing allows us to accelerate our growth strategy and allows us to close on our acquisitions quickly. These acquisitions, combined with an aggressive set of sales and marketing campaigns, should more than double our subscribers, our network infrastructure and revenues. Subject to these acquisitions closing, it will be the second time we have doubled our business in the first year since going public.”

Omnicity Corp, based in Indiana, is focused on providing broadband access, including advanced services of voice, video and data, in un-served and underserved small and rural markets and is planning to be the premier consolidator of rural market broadband nationwide.

Share prices, which are hovering around 32 cents, have been steadily declining for the past six months, from a high of 90 cents in May.

China Crescent (CCTR) increases $40 million profitable revenue forecast

China Crescent Enterprises, Inc. (OTCBB: CCTR) announced Monday that the Company is increasing its previous expectations for revenue growth in 2009, based on Hewlett-Packard year-to-date sales and World Bank growth forecast. In 2008, China Crescent reported over $40 million in profitable revenue from the resale and integration of Hewlett-Packard (HP), Sony, Lenovo, and other brand name technology companies into the Chinese market.

According to global market intelligence firm IDC, Hewlett-Packard’s market share in China increased from 10.9 percent in the last quarter of 2008 to 13.7 percent in the first quarter of 2009. Earlier this year, HP was in China to introduce a new line of thin client computers marketed toward business users. Philip Verges, China Crescent founder and board member, was in Chongqing for the launch. Perhaps more telling of HP’s long term interest in the Chinese market, the company launched a new manufacturing plant in Chongqing in October of last year.

Additionally, The World Bank has raised its 2009 economic growth forecast for China from 6.5 percent to 7.2 percent due to its government stimulus-driven investment boom. Ardo Hansson, the World Bank’s lead China economist, indicated that the government stimulus impact is bigger than expected.

On Friday of last week, China Crescent announced an on-demand webcast to preview an anticipated second quarter earnings per share increase, as well provide insight on overall revenue and net income growth for 2009. Share prices for CCTR have been on a sharp slide since hitting a high of 32 and a half cents in late March, to a dismal 3 cents, where stock prices have been hovering this week.